Getting a Charge From Emerson Electric and Its CEO

A company led by a dynamic CEO who speaks his mind is a good thing when it comes to this multi-faceted industrial.

Another analyst who attended the meeting, Eli Lustgarten of Longbow Research, said he was "not at all" offended by Farr's language. "You have to respect a CEO who is that passionate about his company," Lustgarten said. Hear, hear, and more power to you and Farr!

EMR pays out its next dividend on March 10 and the ex-dividend date has already passed. Its CEO is a force for change, government and corporate accountability and in the latest fiscal year was paid a total of $10.4 million for his services. Perhaps that's commensurate with his ability to guide Emerson to $24.4 billion in global sales in the fiscal year that ended on Sept. 30, 2012.

Analysts expect that number to top $25 billion in the current fiscal year on the crest of over a 6% increase in EPS. If EMR can surprise to the upside in the quarters ahead, it won't be difficult for the analysts' consensus estimate one-year price target of $60 a share to be reached.

David Farr, you have our permission to at times sound like a person who periodically suffers from Turrets Syndrome as long as you continue to be such a competent skipper of this massive, money-making ship we call Emerson Electric.

We've done the math, Mr. Farr. If we buy shares at $56 or below, collect the 3% dividend for a year and the share price pops up to $60, we'll be looking at a total return on our investment of over 10%.

We can live with that, and we promise to be more careful about not trying to pigeon-hole your enduringly successful enterprise.

At the time of publication the author had no position in any of the stocks mentioned.